During his lifetime, Simon Bolivar led Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador, Panama, and Venezuela to independence from Spain. He helped lay the democatic foundations of much of Hispanic America. Most of these countries celebrate Bolivar on their coinage, but Venezuela does one better than that -- they name their coin denominations after him!

Venezuela has been minting coins like these in silver since 1873. There are many variations, and many of the variations have Simon Bolivar on the front. This page applies only to coins with the pattern in our picture (shield with leaves and ribbon) on the back. We have another page (click here) that cover centavos denominations before 1879.

These coins have taken on good numismatic (coin collector) value, especially for coins dated before 1925. After 1936 the composition changed from silver to nickel.

The coins in 1/2, 1, 2, and 5 bolivar denominations all look very similar to each other, but the size is different. There are 10 and 20 bolivar denominations minted in gold, and the portrait looks right instead of left. This page applies to silver bolivares only.

Below we present a summary of approximate catalog values for coins dated 1879 to 1936. These are catalog values, and must be properly interpreted using the tenets outlined on our Important Terminology page. Be sure to read our terminology page; you can not figure a coin's value without it. For reference, the coin in our picture grades about halfway between 'worn' and 'average circulated.'

1/2 BOLIVAR, GR 2.5, 17 mm diameter, 0.067 troy ounces silver
worn: $20 US dollars approximate catalog value
average circulated: $50
well preserved: $200
fully uncirculated: $500
coins dated after 1911 and before 1919 are worth less than these figures, about 1/3 the value
coins dated after 1918 are worth about 1/5 these values
coins dated 1888 catalog at $600 in average circulated condition
coins dated 1889 catalog at $4000 in average circulated condition

1 BOLIVAR, GR 5, 22 mm diameter, 0.134 troy ounces silver
worn: $30 US dollars approximate catalog value
average circulated: $70
well preserved: $200
fully uncirculated: $600
coins dated after 1902 and before 1924 are worth less than these figures, about 1/4 the value
coins dated after 1923 are worth very little, about $3 in average circulated condition
coins dated 1887, 1888, and 1889 catalog around $400 in average circulated condition

2 BOLIVARES, GR 10, 28 mm diameter, 0.269 troy ounces silver
worn: $30 US dollars approximate catalog value
average circulated: $70
well preserved: $200
fully uncirculated: $850
coins dated after 1903 and before 1914 are worth less than these figures, about 1/3 the value
coins dated after 1913 (except 1930) are worth small amounts, about $8 in average circulated condition
coins dated 1886, 1888, and 1889 catalog at $250 in average circulated condition
coins dated 1930 are somewhat scarce and catalog at $15 in average circulated condition

5 BOLIVARES, GR 25, 37 mm diameter, 0.723 troy ounces silver
worn: $30 US dollars approximate catalog value
average circulated: $50
well preserved: $250
fully uncirculated: $850
coins dated after 1900 and before 19111 are worth less than these figures, about 1/2 the value
coins dated after 1910 are worth small amounts, about $12 in average circulated condition